Flange wrench



J. P. SLATTERYQ FLANGE WRENCH. APPLICATION HLED NOV-'1], 192].

1,41 3,362; Patented Apr. 18, 1922'.

mmm

A; ATTORNEY.

I To all cighomtt may concern;

JOHN. RsnA'rTEnY; on 'NEW YORK, 1v. Y, r

" OFFIC FLANGE WRENCH.

' araeee.

Be it known that-I, Jonn P. SLArgrERr, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flange Wrenches,fully described andrepresented in vide a wrench which is adapted to gripthe flangeby engaging either lugs 'on the periphery of the the flange.

'In'order to secure together pipes which are fixedsothat they cannot beturned, and

for other purposes, it is frequently necessary to screw disc shapedflange upon the threaded end of a pipe or shaft; In order to make tightjoints of steam pipes, for example, it is necessary to apply'a veryheavy.

turning force to the flanges. -To screw on such flanges it hasheretofore been customary to apply a crowbar or joist to pins stuck inthe'bolt holes of the flange, or,"1n case the flange is provided withperipheral lugs, to make use of a spanner provided with a longhandle. Ineither case a heavy force must be applied to the crowbar or handle, 1tbeing frequently necessary for two or three workmen to throw theirweight upon it. It has frequently happened that the bar or spanner hasslipped from the flange, and when this occurs serious injury tothe'workmen is likely to result. Accordingv to my invention, the wrenchis not only provided with means for gripping a flange so'asto turn itbut has also means for'engaging the sides of the flange infsuchmannerias to prevent the wrench "from turning out of the plane of theflange sufficiently to the gripping means. I I

A wrench of approved form embodying the present invention comprises along bar which serves as a lever or handle,"anjd one edge of which nearone of its ends" serves as disengage a bearing surface to engage theedge of the,

flange which is to be turned and which may Appplication filed November17,1921. Serial No. 515,79. v

flange-or thebolt holes of Specification of Letters Patent; Patented A-1 ,1922,

be made inwardly curved 50' as tomore. or less closely awainstga portionof the .edge of the-flangeigidly secured to lth'e ene'.

gaging endof the bar are twogu-i'deplats. which embrace a'portion-oftheflange when. 7 a the bearing surfaceof the bar is placed against theedge of the flange, andwhich are provided-withmeans for positively (gripping the flange'at some distance ffromjthe' point at which the bearingsurface of the ping meansserve by their engagement'with the oppositesides of the flange to prevent bar engages the fiange The :guide plates2 besides serving as a support for theL'gri-p either the gripping m'eansor the bearing 7 5 surface of the bar fromunoving sidewise sufficientlyto slip from the flange. A heavy force-may therefore be applied to the'bar to turn the flange without danger of causing the wrench toslipjfrom its engagement with the flange. The danger ofinjury to I theworkmen which has been heretofore present in screwing a flange tightlyon a pipe or other threadedobjectis thus nated by l the new wrench;

In 0rd r r'that the invention be understood, I will describe in 'detail'the specific approved embodimentjofiitlwhich '7' accompanying draw isillustrated in n s; 1n wh1ch' Fig. 2 is a 'similarview of the'iwrenchapplied so as to engage a" bolt hole' int'he.

' 'l g. 1. is a side elevation of the wrench applied to a flange havingperipheralflugs;

Fig, 3is an edge view of the wrenchapii.

plied to a. flange as in Fig.12, 'thefview b'eparallel to the lower ingtaken in a direction edges of theguide plates.

The bar 10 of. the wrench is :most

workmen, and isjdesirablytapered toward .desir-gr ably made of wood butmaybe ofmet'al "or a other suitable'lmaterial, and it maybe of'sufiikzient length to. be grasped by several its outward end andsuitably rounded to serve as a handle.

greater thanthat of the flange to ,which it isto be applied. One edgeof-the bar 10 near its lnner orengaglng end serves" as a bearingsurfacell; The bearingfsurface 11 is pre'ferably'made inwardly curvedandof aboutlthe same radius as the periphery to which "he bar is to be.

of the flange applied;

The guide plates 15 arelg'ii idly' secu ed- The inner portion of" I" thebar is flat and'is of a thickness sli htl to opposite sides of the barat a short distance from the inner end of the bar by means of bolts 16passing through both plates and the bar, or by other means, and they areso positioned that a portion of each of them may lie within theperiphery of the flange to which the wrenchis applied when the bearingsurface 11 of the bar 'isin contact with the edge oil the flange. Aspacer 17 secured between the guide plates 15 as by means of bolts 18serves to maintain the guide plates parallel to each other and alsoassists in placing the wrench in proper position on the flange.

The guideplates 15 are provided with gripping means adapted to take apositive grip on the flange so that the flange may be turned by forceapplied to the bar 10. Most desirable, and as shown, the wrench isprovided with two types of gripping means, one adapted to engageperipheral lugs on the flange and the other to engage bolt holes in theflange. This results in making a single wrench applicable both toflanges having peripheral lugs and to flanges without such lugs.

The gripping means for engaging the peripheral lugs 01" the flange 1nthe wrench shown consists of a dog 20 pivotally mounted between theplates 15 near the upper outer corner thereof on a bolt 21 and isprovided with an engaging shoulder 22. Such gripping means serves toengage the lugs o't' flanges oi diflerent diameters, and it may be movedout, of the way as shown in Fig. 2 when the wrench is applied to flangesnot having lugs.

The gripping means for engaging the bolt holes of a flange comprisesregistering holes 30 in the portions of the guide plates which liewithin the periphery of the flange when the wrench is applied to aflange and a pin 31 adapted to be passed through the holes 30 and a bolthole in the flange. In order to adapt the wrench to flanges 0tdifl'erent diameters or to flanges having differently positioned boltholes, it is desirable to provide a plurality or" pairs of registeringholes in the guide plates located at diflerent distances from engagingsi rface 11 ot' the wrench. Thus in the embodiment shown the guideplates 15 are provided with two of registering holes 30. The pin 31 ispreterably slightly tapered in order that it may be driven firmly intothe holes, and it is pref- ,erably attached to the wrench by means of achain A hole 32 may be provided in the barlO or in the guide plates tohold the pin 81 when it is not in use.

In using the wrench which has been described, to turn a flange providedwith peripheral lugs, such as the flange A illustrated in Fig. 1, thewrench is positioned on the flange with the guide plates straddling aportion of the disk. As the plates are separated by a distance slightlygreater than the thickness of the flange theymay easily be slipped uponit. The engagement of the inner edge of one of the guide plates with thehub B of the flange, or in the case of larger disks, the engagement ofthe inner edge of the spacer 17 with the edge of the flange, preventsthe guide plates from slipping on too far. The dog 20 being then turneddown to the position shown in Fig. 1, the outer end of the barlO ismoved in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) with the contact surface 11 ofthe bar bearing against the edge of the flange until the dog 20 engagesone of the peripheral lugs of the flange. Further movement of the bar ina clockwise direction then results in turning the flange A. When the barhas been moved as far as space permits, it is raised to engage the dogwith another lug on the flange, and the operation repeated until theoperation is completed. As much force as is necessary to screw theflange on tightly may be applied to the bar 10 without danger ofslippage as the guide plates 15 prevent the wrench from turningsidewiseso as to slip out of engagement with the flange.

When the wrench is used on a flange such as the flange C shown in Figs.2 and 3, which is not provided with peripheral lugs, the operation isthe same except that the turnengagement of the wrench with the flange iseffected by positioning the wrench with one pair of the holes 30registering with one of the bolt holes of the flange C, and the pin 31is inserted through the aligned holes so as to loclr the guide plates tothe flange. The force sufficient to turn the flange may then be appliedto the bar 10.

Securing the plates 15 to the bar 10, and

the spacer 1? in position, by means of bolts as in the constructionshown, or otherwise so that they are removable, has the advantage I ofpermitting the wrench to be readily adapted to fit flanges of variousthicknesses by inserting spacing plates between one or both of theplates 15 and substituting spacers 17 01'? right thickness or insertingspacing plates.

I wish it clearly understood that the invention is by no means limitedto the particular embodiment of it which Ihave described nor to the formand specific arrangement of the parts shown.

lVhat I claim is: I

1. A flange wrench, comprising in con1- bination a bar forming thehandle of the wrench and having, at its inner end a hearing surfaceadapted to engage the edge of the flange, and spaced guide membersextending from said bar positioned to embrace a portion of the flangewhen said bearing surface of the bar is in engagement with the edge ofthe flange, said guide members being provided with gripping meanslocated between them and adapted wrench and having atits inner end an inwardly curved bearing surface adapted to engage the edge of the flange,and spaced guide membersextending .from said bar positioned to embrace aportion of the flange when said bearing surface of the bar is inengagement with the edge of the flange, said guide members beingprovided with gripping means located between them and adapted to engagethe flange when said guide members are embracing a portion of theflange.

-3. A flange wrench, comprising in combination a bar forming the handleof the wrench having a flat portion near its inner end of a thicknessslightly greater than the thickness of the flange 'to which the wrenchis to be applied and having at its inner end a bearing surface adaptedto engage the edge of the flange, and guide plates bolted to oppositesides of the flat portion of saidbar and extending therefrom and sopositioned that a portion of said plates may lie within the periphery ofthe flange and a portion of the plates without the periphery of theflange when the bearing surface of the bar is in engagement with theedge of the flange, said guide plates be positively to engage theflange.

. bination a bar forming the "handle of the wrench having a flat portionnear its inner end of a thickness slightly greater than the thickness ofthe flange to which the wrenchis to be appliedcand having at its innerend a bearing surface adapted to engage the edge of the flange, guideplates bolted to opposite sides of'the flat portion of said bar andextending therefrom and so positioned that a portion of said plates 'maylie within the periphery of the flange and a portion of the plateswithout the periphery of the flange when the bearing surface of the baris in engagement with the edge ofthe flange, and a spacer bolted betweenthe portions of said guide plates which lie outside the periphery oftheflange, said guide plates being provided with gripping means adaptedpositively to engage the flange.

flange wrench, comprising. in com bination a bar forming the handle ofthe. wrench and having at its inner end a bearing surface adapted toengage the edge of ing provided with gripping means adapted: 7 V

' be passed the flange, and spaced guide members extending fromsaid barpositioned to embrace'a portion of the flangerwhen said bearing surfaceof the baris in engagement with the edge of the flange, said guidemembers being provided with gripping. means comprising meansmovablerinto andout of operative position for engaging a peripheral ilug on the flange and with means for engaging a bolt holein the flange.

6. A flange wrench, comprising'in combination a bar forming the handleof the wrench and having at its inner end a bear- 1 ing surface adaptedto engage the edge of the flange, and spaced guide members ex-.

tending from said bar positioned to embrace.

a portion of the flange when said bearing surface of the bar is inengagement with v ing surface adapted to engage the edge of the flange,and spaced guide members extending from saidbar positioned to embrace aportion of the flange when said bearing surface is in engagementwith'the. edge of the. flange, said guide members being pro vided with apair of aligned holes adapted bolt-holeL 8., flange vwrench, comprisingin com-, bination a bar forming the handle of the wrench and having atits inner end a bearing surface adapted to engage'the'edgeof w theflange, and spaced guide members extending from said bar positioned toem brace a portion of the flange when said to be broughtinto alignmentwith .a bolt hole -;in the flange, and a .pin adapted to'f' throughsaidflange'holes and bearing surface is in engagement with the edge of theflange, said guide members being provided with a plurality of. pairs 'ofaligned holes spaced at different distances from said bearing surfaceand adapted to be brought into alignment with bolt holes of flanges ofdifferent diameter, and a tapered pin adapted to be passedthroughanypair of said holes and through a bolt hole aligned with them.7

lie 1 r In testimony'whereof I have hereunto set my hand intheypresenceiof tWo'subscrib-t ing witnesses. v V

' JOHN P. SLATTERY; Witnesses: j V

j A. JARECKY, A. KENT};

